


Fatalism

by Pteraptorsaurus



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Being sans is suffering, Gen, Sans babysits a bunch of troubled magical tweens, and Homura ain't happy about that, and sticks his nose where it doesn't belong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 01:19:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13870029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pteraptorsaurus/pseuds/Pteraptorsaurus
Summary: "Do you think even the most determined person can give up? That they can willingly let the flow of time go on without them?" Sans seems to think so. But are the consequences worth it?





	Fatalism

The sunrise is something Sans never got tired of watching. There is just something magical about watching the enormous ball of gas light up the sky in color. Maybe it's because it was the first thing he saw upon arriving out of the Underground, a symbolic image of their newfound freedom. Or maybe because it's a consistent aspect of nature, acting like an anchor to reality after all the reality warping he endured. A guarantee that time is flowing in the manner it should and that nature is following it course. Or maybe he just thinks it looks pretty.

"Eh, probably that one." Sans says out loud with a faint sigh. He currently lay on the roof of his house, basking in the rising light above the city in the distance. The wind blowing around him is likely chilly, but lacking skin made him unable to be bothered. He was wearing his usual attire of a blue hoodie, raggedy white t-shirt, black shorts, and pink slippers. He usually just sleeps in the same clothes anyways, so no real need to constantly change.

Suddenly, he hears a faint alarm coming from with his house, followed by a loud rustling and a loud but muffled voice. He simply chuckles and closes his eyes. "And three, two, one…."

"Sans, there you are!" Papyrus' head pops out of the window beneath where Sans was lying. "Now is not the time to be lollygagging by watching the sun in the sky rise, you have to help me pack!"

"Oh come on bro, you know how the sunrise really 'lifts' my spirits." He responds with a wink. Papyrus only makes an annoyed groan in response. "Anyway, I'll be down in a bit, don't you worry." Sans glances down at the larger skeleton, making note of his current wear. "You…uh…know you're still wearing your jammies, right?"

"I..I knew that!" Papyrus exclaims. "It was just a test to make sure you were alert. Yes, an honest test. I am leaving you on your own for a month and I can't afford to having you let your guard down. So I secretly wore my jammies while coming to get you, hoping that you would notice and call me out."

"Whatever you say bro." Sans replies, standing up and stretching. "Just make sure you don't forget anything." He pipes in right as Papyrus popped out of view.

"Of course, brother!" His brother calls back while leaving Sans' room. "The great Papyrus never forgets! Nyehehe!", the sound of his laugh heavily muffled by the room between them. Sans takes one last look at the sun before teleporting down into his room. It is the same as it this morning: sloppy, though now that Papyrus had dashed through, it is probably even more so. There is the self-sustaining trash tornado in one corner, his desk littered with paper and trash, his bed completely disheveled, and he is ninety percent sure that the faint smell of ketchup lingers about from all his late night snacking. With a sigh, he kicks off his slippers and slipped into a pair of blue and white tennis shoes, though not bothering to tie them.

Of course, Papyrus does forget things. Eleven things to be precise, ranging from his toothpaste to his third favorite action figure for traveling. As he walks through the house, Sans knows where to pick the various commodities up and slip them into his brother's bags without him noticing. By the time he comes down into the kitchen, Papyrus is already dressed up in his vacation clothes: a red basketball shirt with "00" on the front, a red baseball cap, blue shorts rather similar to Sans' own, and bright red tennis shoes. In addition, a pair of shades and a camera hang at his neck.

"Heh, looking cool bro!"

"That's onii-chan to you, Sans!" Papyrus says as he poured a bowl of cereal. Ever since they had planned this trip to Japan, Papyrus had been trying to learn Japanese from both the Internet and Alphys, both of which had…mixed results.

"Can you pour me a glass?"

"Only if you promise not to try and chug the whole thing and fall asleep half way through!"

"Oh come on that was one time, onii-chan." Sans put extra emphasis on that last part. That seems to do the trick, as Papyrus glows with delight and quickly pours Sans some milk and Boo-Berry Cereal before handing him a spoon. The two brothers eat their food in their own ways: Sans pouring the entire bowl directly into his mouth while Papyrus scolding him through a spoonful of cereal, seeming to forget how gross it was to see him chew his food. The meal is over quick as the two brought Papyrus' bags outside on the front driveway.

"Ooooo, I can't wait to go Sans" Papyrus was giddy with excitement as Sans dropped his last bag down on top of the pile using blue magic.

"I'm so excited for you too, bro" Sans echoed, giving a double thumbs up to the lanky skeleton. "You're gonna show the entire country of Japan how cool you are."

"Right you are Sans! I wonder what is taking the others so long? They said they would be hear at 6:15." It was then that a large white Sedan began to drive up their street.

"Speak of the devil." Sans remarks as the van pulls up to their driveway. As the lights turn off, one of the side doors opens and a small figure leaps out and in a flash tackles Papyrus.

"Papyrus! Sans!" Frisk said, squeezing the lanky skeleton.

"Ah! Hello there Frisk!" He picked up the small child and swung them around a few times, the two of them laughing.

"Heya kiddo." Sans said with a lazy grin before looking at the others coming out of the car. Toriel came out of the driver's seat, barely squeezing through the door. She was wearing what looked like a red and white sundress with a large straw sunhat. Then came Undyne from the passenger side, wearing a black anime character (Vegeta, if Sans remembered correctly from his anime marathons with Alphys) t-shirt, jeans, and combat boots. Finally, Alphys climbed out of a the other side door. She wore a pink t-shirt with "MMKC" lettering on the front and short lilac dress, with her usual glasses planted on her face. "How's it goin' gang?"

"We're doing well." Toriel replied with a bright smile.

"We're hyped as heck Sans!" Undyne laughed while picking up Papyrus bags and stuffing them into the trunk. "We've only been planning this for, like, forever!"

"Actually, it's been about f-five months." Alphys corrected, "B-but, it certainly has felt like f-forever!"

"You said it, Doctor!" Papyrus confirmed, Frisk now sitting on his shoulders.

"Right, now we shouldn't hang around too long." Toriel reprimanded. "We have to make it before the traffic hits." She turned to Sans, her smile dropping slightly to a more inquisitive look. "Are you sure you don't want to join us Sans? It would be no trouble at all." Sans just shrugged.

"Eh, travel isn't really my thing. I'm more of a stay-at-home couch potato type. Not to mention, someone has to watch the snack bar at the shop."

"Are you sure?" Frisk spoke quietly from atop Papyrus shoulders.

"It's all good kiddo. Don't let this ol' bag of bones drag you guys down." The group gave him one last concerned look before preparing to get back in the car. Frisk then dropped down from Papyrus and gave Sans a tight hug, to which he reciprocated.

"Sans, are you okay?" The kid asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm doing alright."

"Papyrus said you were dreaming again last night. Is that why don't you wanna come?" Sans just sighed before breaking the hug. Looks like Papyrus was up super early again and ratted him out to the kid.

"Don't you worry about little ol' me, Frisk. I want you and the others to have fun." He gave a soft laugh and affectionately ruffled Frisk's hair. "Don't keep the others waiting."

"Take care of yourself Sans."

"Same goes to you kid." The group shared one last goodbye, with Sans receiving a kiss on the forehead from Toriel, noogie from Undyne, an awkward fist bump from Alphys, and a bear hug from Papyrus.

"Bye." He called out to them as they pulled out from the driveway. "Make sure to bring me back souvenirs." The group waved and said goodbye in a jumbled unison and soon they were out of sight. The small skeleton made a small hum before rolling his shoulders. "Whelp, might as well get ready for work." He turned and walked back into the house.

If there was one thing Sans had improved upon while above ground, it was his hygiene. During 'that' time, he would tend to go for days without washing or cleaning and only a forceful Papyrus could make him do so. But now, he found himself taking almost pride in how he looked. Well, almost. His shower was brief and he slipped into his work clothes, which were essentially the same as his normal clothes but with an upside-down nametag on his jacket that said "Hi, my name is snaS", with his name written in blue crayon. He found that he much preferred to have a flipped nametag over than simply rewriting it. Giving himself a look over in the mirror, he pulled his tricycle out of the garage, locked the house and went to work.

Being the multitasker he was, Sans found he could hold down multiple jobs at once, though not as many as the underground due to the workload. So sadly, less legally required breaks for him. From the morning through early afternoon, he worked as a security guard for a mall in the downtown area. It was easy enough, just keep an eye on people and make sure no one stole anything. After that, he usually grabbed a bite at Grillby's new restaurant on the surface, though it seemed the owner was a bit stricter on the whole tab situation now that Sans had a steady job. Later on in the evenings, he would work at the small flower shop he and Papyrus had opened.

As it turned out, Papyrus had a surprising talent for raising underground flowers, so he started "Papyrus' Puzzling Plants". While Papyrus mostly helped people out with plants, Sans himself worked at the snack bar. There, he made all sorts of amusing deals like: 50% your purchase if you ate Papyrus' spaghetti without reacting, or be able to walk 5 feet without dropping a single water sausage on your head and get any 2 items free. After at around 8, he then went back home where he usually ate either a premade dinner or some snacks before crashing on the couch with the TV on or making it to his bed where he slept.

On the weekends, Sans didn't have work so he usually sat a small hotdog stand downtown selling Hot Cats, Dogs, and water sausages on a few joking occasions. He was surprising popular with people of the area: humans and occasional monsters alike. He never turned down a conversation or pushed people away. After which, he usually hung out at Grillby's for a bit before heading home again. Some may have considered this routine to get boring, but not to Sans. Sans enjoyed the routine. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

As the days passed, he received constant updates from the group. Pictures, postcards, calls, and emails; any form of communication they could send to him they did. And he enjoyed every one they sent to him. At least, that's what he told himself.

The four weeks passed as quickly as they came. Currently, Sans was lying on the couch, eating ketchup chips, and idly flipping through the channels. Suddenly, he felt a buzz in his jacket pocket. He pulls out his phone to see he had received another text from Papyrus.

"DEAR BROTHER, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT A HURRICANE HAS HIT THE CITY FROM WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE. DO NOT WORRY, WE ARE CURRENTLY STAYING IN A SHELTER UNTIL THE STORM PASSES AND EVERYONE IS SAFE. BUT WE WILL LIKELY BE DELAYED A FEW DAYS. WE'LL TRY TO BE IN TOUCH. UNTIL LATER. ~SINCERELY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS."

"Right on schedule" Sans sighs and flips through the news channels until he finds what he wants.

"Currently, Mitakihara city in Japan is being hit by one of the worse hurricanes of the century." The reporter says, small footage feed of the storm behind her next to bold red letters that say "Storm-zilla". "Authorities are trying to evacuate everyone in the vicinity to storm shelters and relief is being prepared for once the storm ends." The screen is then filled by a presumably live feed from a Japanese station as Japanese letters flew on the bottom and a voice speaking the language could be heard in the background. As the English reporter continues to spout details, Sans tunes her out and just watches the feed. It is clear the damage the storm was doing to the city. Buildings lay crushed and destroyed, debris flying like projectiles all across the screen, and explosions and stream of fire seem to litter the background, likely from gas tanks and other such fuel. In addition, the sky appears to have unnatural purple haze to it. And yet Sans knows they would be fine, they always were.

He rolls the rest of his chips in a bag and dusted some of the dust off his clothes. He looks back at the television to see that the reported had moved onto some other topic of importance. He grunts and presses the power button on the remote, watching as the screen flickers to black with a soft buzz. He tosses the remote back onto the couch and stretched his arms feeling them crack and loosen. "Tomorrow is gonna have a beautiful sunrise." He mumbles to himself, sleepily rubbing his eyes. The sound of his footsteps climbing the stairs echoes through the empty house. He quietly enters his room and falls face first onto the mattress with a soft thump. "Everyone is gonna be alright" he mumbles. "Everyone will be.…al…..right." And his world goes black.

His dreams embraces him like steel trap: sudden, cold, and painful. He sees it: an endless sea of death and despair. Indistinguishable figures screaming in agony reach out for him, only to be pulled back. Sans can barely register his own screaming and tears as he flails about, trying desperately to save someone, anyone. All the while, he hears it: that blood curdling laugh, that damn laugh. It rises until it's the only thing he can hear, drilling into his head. Sans tries to scream and block it out, but his voice seems to have stopped working as he falls into the void. And then...crack…shatter.

Sans bolts up, covered in sweat and chest heaving. He clings to his shirt, feeling the pulse of his soul underneath it. He is in his room, not a void and it's almost silent. Neither laughter nor screaming could be heard. Only the creaking of their plumbing and the chirping of birds outside made noise.

"I'm…I'm still alive." He knew it was rhetorical, but it was reassuring. He stayed in that position for a few minutes before checking the time. Five fourty five in the morning. He still had a bit of time. He took a shaky breath in and slowly stood up. He slips into his slippers and jacket, almost unsure of his actions. Then taking another deep breath, he snaps his fingers and finds himself on his roof, overlooking his neighborhood. It's exactly the same as it has been for the last year. He slowly lies back and looks at the sky. The light was already beginning to come over the horizon and overtake the darkness of the previous night.

And Sans lay there watching the sunrise, he heard a familiar alarm go off, followed by a loud thump and clatter. "And three...two...one..."

"Sans, there you are!" Papyrus exclaimed as he pops up from the window below. " Now is not the time to be lollygagging by watching the sun in the sky rise, you have to help me pack!"

Oh come on bro, you know how the sunrise really 'lifts' my spirits." Sans responds with a wink and once again, Papyrus only made an annoyed groan in response. "Anyway, I'll be down in a bit, don't you worry." Sans glanced down at the larger skeleton, making note of his current wear, but decides that he doesn't feel like mentioning it this time.

"Alright, I'll be making breakfast." And he withdraws back into the house. Sans sighs and looks back at the sun. "Heh, I guess I really only do like it because it's pretty." That was the only reason he could accept. He'd come out and watched this exact sunrise sixty five times now. It was no symbol of freedom or of nature's balance. It was a reminder that he could never escape his hell. He was doomed to repeat this month. There was nothing he could do no one he could befriend, no one he could kill. So he accepted it, like he accepted all those resets ago. It was the only thing he could do.

"Guess time really has it out for me." He gave a hollow laugh before teleporting off the roof, wondering if Papyrus had remembered all his stuff this time.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Hey, so you may know me as Thunderaptor from FF.net. Don't worry, I'm just postin this here to get the motivation for this story back in action.


End file.
